Giving medicine

Your pet fell ill and has to get medicine. But how to solve this problem best?
There are several ways with different advantages and disadvantages you have to measure soundly.
Medicine which has to get into the body to have an effect can have be gels, pastes, powder, globules and many more pharamceutical forms. Even powder and globules are better solved in water. Then they are to apply easier. For fluids there are several ways to apply them orally.
Please keep in mind that most homoeopathic globules are not to come in touch with metals. So don't use a metal spoon or a water bottle with a metal tube. Otherwise the effect might be limited.

The medicine is applied directly into the mouth by a syringe without a needle or a pipet or the patient eats it from the hand. So sometimes you have to fix the patient and to take care that it won't collapse by stress.
Take care that the medicine is really swallowed down because some patients tend to spit it out or they let it bleed out on the side of the mouth. Then there won't be enough medicine inside and so there is no effect.

Advantages:

• The necessary dose is surely taken in.

Disadvantages:

• Fixing causes stress which is the more intense the more shy your patient is.
• Doesn't work for patients you cannot fix.

Suitable for:

• fluids that fit for oral appliance
• gels
• pastes
• pills and others, if they are taken voluntarily by the patient

Risks:

• If applied wrong the patient might inhale the medicine

If you can't or don't want to touch the patient, it might be a possibility to daub the medicine into the coat. The mouse will eat it while cleaning the coat.
You can use this method for species only that clean their coat mainly by grooming. For species cleaning their coat by sand (e.g. jerboas or pale gerbils) it won't work.
Put the treatet rodent into a small box for some minutes until it has licked the medicine off the coat. This makes sure that no other member of the group helps cleaning the coat and the patient doesn't get enough medicine. Otherwise the dose would be too little. This would result in resistances when using antibiotica or similar medicine.
Ask your vet for advice whether the dose has to be a little higher using this method to make sure that the patient gets enough medicine. On the other hand there are several drugs that shouldn't come in touch with skin or coat.

Advantages:

• Only a short touch is necessary, so there is not much stress caused.
• Only the patient will get the medicine.

Disadvantages:

• You can't be sure that the patient has eaten all of the medicine.
• Some drugs shoudn't come in touch with skin.

Suitable for:

• Fluids, gels and pastes that are proper for oral application

This method is often used because it works quite simple for pet and keeper. Also very shy animals, you cannot touch, can be treated this way.
This method does not work for species that drink extremely little, such as Greater Egyptian Jerboas.

Advantages:

• This method causes no stress to the animals.
• It is also suitable for extremely shy or stress-sensitive species and individuals.

Disadvantages:

• The medicine cannot be metered out exactly because some individuals drink more, others less. And they also drink at different times.
• The whole group gets the drug, although maybe not all members are sick.
• In the case of an underdose of antibiotics resistances will occur quickly. Get detailed advice from the vet!

Suitable for:

• Liquids which are suitable for oral administration
• Water-soluble powders, globules, pastes and gels
• Please note: Some drugs must be applied according to a precise timetable in an exact dose. For them, this method is unsuitable. Ask your vet for advise!

The drug is either dripped on a treat or given into cream, coconut milk or something similar and offered to the patient.
This method works particularly well for fancy mice and natal rats and tame exotic mice. Make sure that the necessary dose is consumed completely.
Please note: Nutrical contains much sugar so you can't offer it to every exotic species! Find out in advance whether your species is sensitive !
Some medicines taste so disgusting that the mouse won't take it voluntarily anyway even not from a treat.

Advantages:

• Only the patient himself gets the medicine.
• Since the medicine ist voluntarily eaten, the method is not associated with stress.

Advantages:

• Very limited in use.
• Not every medicine goes together with calcium (milk, cream, banana, Nutrical) or other additives of a special treat. Please check exactly!

Suitable for:

• Liquids that are suitable for oral administration
• Pastes
• Gels
• Powders (in a fluid treat)

The medicine is dispersed on the food. So the patients will eat while eating their crops.

Advantages:

• This method causes no stress to the patiens.

Disadvantages:

• It is very difficult to make sure whether the necessary dose is assimilated.
• The whole group gets the medicine, although not all members are sick.

Suitable for:

• Powders

The medicine is applied by a syringe. This requires that you touch the patient and can fix it securely. The medicine can be placed subcutaneously (under the skin) or intramuscularly (into a muscle). Intravenous application, directly into the bloodstream through a vein, is often immpossible due to the small size of your patient.
Please note: Only the vet is allowed to inject medicine!

Advantages:

• You can be sure that the required dose gets into the body.
• Only the patient himself gets the medicine.

Disadvantages:

• This method is suitable only for patients you can fix for the injection.
• Fixing causes stress which is the greater the more shy an animal is.
• Injecting is sometimes even for exotic rodents more stressful than some other ways of oral administration.
• It may cause complications (bleeding, necrosis, abscesses, etc.).

Suitable for:

• Liquids that can be injected